


a realization.

by pyroallerdyce



Series: captured moments. [18]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Professor Ben Solo, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:14:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23632177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroallerdyce/pseuds/pyroallerdyce
Summary: His first thought was hallelujah.His second thought was that it meant it was almost summer so he'd get a break from idiot students who never should have signed up for his class.His third thought hit him out of absolutely nowhere, and it made him pause in the middle of a lecture, which probably made him look like the idiot in the room.Where was Rey living?  Hadn't she said on their first date that her lease was up in a month and she couldn't afford to live there anymore?  Their first date had been nearly four months ago.or:  Ben realizes that he has no idea where Rey is living and then tries to figure out if it's with him without asking her about it.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: captured moments. [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602691
Comments: 10
Kudos: 65





	a realization.

**Author's Note:**

> I AM SO SORRY. I somehow majorly fucked up my back, and in a time of stay safe, stay at home, I can't go to my doctor's office because she'll just want to send me to physical therapy, and there's no way that can happen right now. So sitting at the computer has been practically impossible, and so I have been unable to write. I hit a point yesterday where I thought I'd go insane if I spent another minute without writing anything, took every painkiller and muscle relaxer available to me (in a completely safe manner, of course) and then wrote this. I feel like it's probably incredibly terrible, but whatever, it's a story.
> 
> Again, I'm terribly sorry. Hopefully there won't be a massive delay between this and the next one, but I cannot make any promises on that. At some point in time, we'll get back to our regularly scheduled Monday and/or Friday posting.
> 
> and as always, if you like what you read, please let me know via a comment or kudos or bookmark so that I know I'm not writing into a void. enjoy!

Three weeks after the living hell that was his grandfather's birthday party, Ben realized that the end of the semester was coming up in less than a month. 

His first thought was hallelujah.

His second thought was that it meant it was almost summer so he'd get a break from idiot students who never should have signed up for his class.

His third thought hit him out of absolutely nowhere, and it made him pause in the middle of a lecture, which probably made him look like the idiot in the room.

Where was Rey living? Hadn't she said on their first date that her lease was up in a month and she couldn't afford to live there anymore? Their first date had been nearly five months ago.

“Professor Solo?”

Ben snapped himself back to the classroom and resumed his lecture, trying to stop his head from spinning anymore than it already was. Sure, Rey spent every night at his place now, but that didn't mean that they were living together.

Right?

When the class was finished, Ben made his way to his office, locked the door behind him, and collapsed into his chair, wondering what the fuck he was missing. There was no possible way that Rey had moved in without him knowing it. She had a drawer and a little bit of space in his closet. That was not what happened when someone moved in with someone else. Rey had to have more belongings than that.

He pulled out his phone to text her before deciding that was a bad idea. This was not something to ask in a random message. This was something that needed to be addressed in person.

That thought terrified him.

Ben stared at his phone for a few minutes before deciding that there was someone else that he could talk to about things, took seven deep breaths because he knew he'd regret this, and then called his mother.

“Ben! What a lovely surprise,” Leia said as soon as she answered. “I thought you would be in class now.”

“Classes are done for the day. I'm on office hours now,” Ben explained. He thought about how he should probably unlock his office door for a moment before realizing that he was stalling and getting to the point. “Do you think Rey is living with me?”

Leia laughed. “Don't you think that's a question better asked of your girlfriend?”

“I am not prepared to ask Rey where she is living yet.”

“What do you mean by where she is living?”

“I mean we had a conversation on our first date about how her lease was up in a month and she needed to move, and I haven't heard a thing about it since.”

Leia sighed heavily. “You do realize that part of relationships is communication, right?”

“I understand that, Mama,” Ben said, his tone a little more clipped than he'd meant. “She has not said a word about this. It's not just me.”

“I understand that, but the easiest way to get an answer to your question would be to just ask her if the apartment you go to is the same one she referenced on your date.”

Ben coughed lightly. “I have never been to her place. We always go to mine.”

“You've never been to her apartment?”

“I've dropped her off at a building before, but that was before she started coming back to mine, so no, I've never been to her apartment.”

Ben could hear his mother roll her eyes. “You should have addressed this months ago.”

“Well, I've had more important things on my mind.”

“Like what?”

“Like trying to decide if I'm going to fail all of my students, even if I didn't realize how soon I need to make that decision until today.”

“Benjamin, where has your head been then? You are normally very on top of things like this.”

Ben did not want to answer that. He really didn't. But he knew that his mother would be able to tell that he was lying in an instant. “I had a dream about six weeks ago and it kind of really fucked me up.”

“A dream?” Leia asked. “What was this dream about?”

“I don't have to answer that.”

“Benjamin,” Leia said firmly. “What was the dream about?”

Ben was silent for several moments, concentrating on taking eight deep breaths. “It was about Aunt Mara,” he eventually said.

“Mara?” Leia asked, her tone soft. “What about her?”

Ben fell silent again, took twelve deep breaths, then swallowed hard. “I introduced her to Rey,” he said as quietly as possible. “I introduced her to Rey, Mama.”

“I think that's wonderful, Ben,” Leia said after a moment. “Did Mara like her?”

“She loved her,” Ben said. “But this is not wonderful.”

“Why not? I'd think knowing you have Mara's approval would be a wonderful thing.”

“I don't know that I have Mara's approval,” Ben snapped. “I know that my mind has come up with some subconscious imagery to try and tell me that the fact that I'm in love with Rey is somehow a good thing.”

“Oh, Benjamin,” Leia sighed. “You still haven't told Rey that you love her, have you?”

“Telling Rey that I love her is the beginning of the end.”

“Ben.”

“What? I'm speaking from experience.”

“You are speaking out of fear,” Leia declared. “But you have nothing to worry about, sweetheart. Rey is in love with you too. Telling her that you love her will only be the beginning of something that could very well last for the rest of your life.”

Ben swallowed hard and took four deep breaths. “Don't say things like that to me.”

“Benjamin, if you think that I don't have an adequate assessment of how Rey feels about you, then you are sorely mistaken. Mom and I have had many talks with her about where she sees this going if you can overcome your fear. I think that your subconscious letting you know that Mara would approve should be a big step in you realizing that your fear is no longer necessary.”

Ben took ten deep breaths. “I would really prefer it if you did not have conversations like that with Rey.”

“That is not up to you,” Leia said. “She is happy to talk to us, darling. She wants to be a part of the family. Mom and I are more than happy to have her be one.”

“You didn't do this with any of my previous girlfriends.”

“No, I didn't, but none of your previous girlfriends were this important. Besides, I would have rather shot myself than talk to some of them like this. I don't mean to criticize you, Ben, but you had horrible taste in women before you met Rey.”

“I'm not going to disagree with you on that,” Ben muttered. “I suppose you think I should tell Rey about all of them too.”

“Yes, I do. That is very important.”

“I bet Dad didn't do that with you.”

“I know all about every relationship Han had before we met,” Leia said seriously. “And if you want your relationship with Rey to last, then you need to tell her.”

Ben closed his eyes and slumped down in his chair. “I don't want to ruin this, Mama.”

Ben could hear the smile on his mother's face. “Trust me, you won't.”

Ben glanced over at the clock and sighed. “I need to get to work. I have a bunch of terrible essays to read.”

“Did you tell anyone to come in for office hours today?”

“No.”

“Then put a note on the door to have your students see you tomorrow and go to the café and see Rey instead. You can grade them while she works. That will make you feel better about them.”

Ben couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. “Nothing is going to make me feel better about these.”

“You really are thinking of failing all of them, aren't you?”

“I'm more than thinking of it. I think I'm going to do it.”

“Is this just the one class?”

“No, it's all of my classes,” Ben said, sighing. “There are maybe four or five students out of all of them that deserve a passing grade, but the lowest passing grade possible. This semester has been the worst semester of my life, Mama.”

“Then you should definitely go talk to Rey instead of reading those essays,” Leia said. “You'll feel much better.”

Ben wanted to argue. He really did. But what came out of his mouth instead was “okay.”

Sometimes he hated the way his mother could get him to do that.

“Then I'll let you go, Ben. Text me later and let me know what Rey says.”

“I am not talking to Rey about this tonight.”

“Benjamin, honestly.”

Leia hung up before another word could be said, and Ben ran his hands over his face and sighed. He gathered up his stuff, wrote a note for the door telling anyone who came by to come by the next day instead, and then he headed towards his car and the café. When he pulled into the parking lot, he sat in his car and took forty-seven deep breaths before opening the door and getting out. 

It was just seeing Rey. That's all it was.

The café was packed when he walked in, which was unusual for the late afternoon. Ben noticed that his table at the back was reserved and so he headed towards it, smiling at Jannah when she fell into step behind him. “How are you today, Jannah?”

“I'm doing well,” Jannah said, putting a menu down on the table once Ben was seated. “Rey will be over as soon as she can, but we're swamped right now and Kaydel and Rose have both called in sick today.”

“Both of them? That's unfortunate.”

“That's one way of putting it. I'm upset that Kaydel's not here. I wanted to grill her about her dinner with Beaumont last night. Rey and I both secretly think that she's not sick, she's just still at his.”

Ben laughed. “I'm sure that you'll get the story out of her the next time you see her.”

“I'm sure,” Jannah said, smiling. “Coffee and water?”

“Chocolate milkshake and water,” Ben said. “It's almost summer.”

“Yeah, I suppose it is, isn't it?” Jannah grabbed her order book. “Better write that down before I'm back there getting you coffee and water.”

“Is this not Rey's section?”

“Rey's covering for Rose and Kaydel so I've got hers today,” Jannah said, putting her order book back in her apron. “Don't worry, she'll still come over as much as possible.” 

Ben nodded and Jannah walked away. He let his eyes fall on Rey across the room, smiled at the sight of her laughing, and decided that he really didn't want to go a day without witnessing that. 

So he was definitely not going to ask where it was Rey was living because he was too scared of what his reaction would be if she said with him. 

At least not that night. He was going to have to ask at some point.

“I need you to do something for me,” came Poe's voice as he sat down across from Ben and blocked his view of Rey. “And I need you to just do it without comment.”

“Which has now guaranteed there will be a comment,” Ben said, sighing. “What is it?”

“I want you to invite Zorii to have lunch with you here on Saturday.”

Ben sighed. “What did you do now?”

“I didn't do anything!” Poe exclaimed. “I just want her to see the café but I can't invite her to come here myself.”

Ben glared at him and Poe sighed heavily. “I am telling you the truth. I don't want to just flaunt 'hey I own this super successful café' to her, especially when she still can't find a job.”

Ben's glare turned into a frown. “What happened to the one at the hospital?”

“Yeah, apparently there wasn't a job at the hospital. She just didn't want to say that she's still looking for one.”

“You could give her one,” Ben suggested.

“That's is an abysmal idea and you know it.”

“No, I actually think that it's a good idea,” Ben said. “I'm not saying make her a waitress, but she's got the financial degree. She could have all that money stuff you spend ages trying to do figured out in no time.”

“Hmm,” Poe mused. “That's not that bad of an idea.”

“Of course not. I thought of it.”

“Shut up, motherfucker,” Poe said, shoving at Ben's shoulder. “I would still like you to have lunch here with Zorii on Saturday.”

“I'll ask her,” Ben groaned. “But you are taking control from there. All I am doing is introducing her to Rey.”

“Fine,” Poe sighed. “So what's up? You look atrocious.”

“I'm fine.”

“Don't lie to me.”

“I just had a thought in the middle of a lecture today and I really don't know what to do about it.”

“Does this have to do with that dream you won't tell anyone about?”

“No, and I told my mother about it, which only served to make everything ten million times worse as per usual.”

“I somehow doubt that,” Poe admonished. “And you better tell Rey about this dream.”

“I'll tell her when I feel like it's necessary, and I am not at that point yet. Besides, I have a whole other thing to figure out now.”

“Meaning?”

Ben took six deep breaths. “Nope.”

“Ben, come on. You clearly need to talk about this.”

“Which is precisely why I called my mother, even though that was a serious mistake.”

Poe shook his head as he heard his name called out behind him. “One of these days, Ben,” he said as he stood, “you're going to realize that talking to people is a good thing.”

Ben watched him walk away and then turned his attention back to Rey. He smiled at Jannah when she brought his milkshake and then reached into his bag to get out the essays he was dreading. He was halfway through the milkshake and a good chunk of the way through the horrible essays when the chair next to him was pulled out and Rey sat down. 

“Hi, honey,” Rey said, trying to sound cheery but Ben could hear the exhaustion in her voice. “How was your day?”

“Long,” Ben said, setting down the essay in his hand and turning towards her. “Seeing you makes it better though.”

“Seeing you makes my day better too,” Rey said, leaning in and kissing him. “I can't wait until we get home tonight.”

The word home started blinking in Ben's mind like one of those incredibly annoying signs that every business seemed to have now, but he shoved it aside quickly. There was a time to have that conversation and it wasn't when Rey was so exhausted.

“Me either,” Ben murmured. “I need to relax.”

Rey smiled and kissed him deeply. “I will gladly help you relax.”

Ben felt a shiver go down his spine as Rey kissed him again, and he grinned as she pulled back. “Well, I will gladly reciprocate.”

Rey kissed him eagerly and stood up. “I have to get back to work, but I'll be back as soon as possible. In the meantime, get some food from Jannah, okay? You need to eat something.”

Ben nodded and Rey kissed him one more time before walking away. He watched her go and then ran his hands over his face. They really needed to talk about how Rey called Ben's apartment home, but Ben was not ready for that discussion at all.


End file.
